Emphysema is a leading cause of disability and mortality in the United States and worldwide. Aside from cigarette smoke, age is the biggest risk factor for emphysema development. Emphysema has been considered by some as an age-related disease because the alveolar destruction that is its hallmark occurs in the normal aging lung. Telomere dysfunction is one of the best-characterized mechanisms of cellular aging. Our group has recently shown that telomere dysfunction is a determinant of emphysema susceptibility in mice as well as in some human families. This application builds on these findings to probe the mechanisms underlying telomere-mediated emphysema. Our focus is primarily on understanding how epithelial damage and cellular senescence contribute to emphysema, with age and in response to cigarette smoke.
The specific aims build on compelling data showing that telomere dysfunction in epithelial cells limits repair after injury, ad test whether telomere length is a relevant determinant of stem cell function in alveolar progenitor cells. Our proposed studies aim to advance paradigms of emphysema biology in the context of aging mechanisms with the goal of identifying new understanding of disease mechanisms and novel targets for treatment.

Public Health Relevance

Emphysema is a major cause of disability, and it is the third leading cause of death in the United States. There are currently no effective treatments that slow its progressive course. Age is the biggest risk factor for emphysema;and this project aims to define the role of telomeres, a well-established mechanism of cellular aging, in emphysema biology with the goal of defining new paradigms for approaching its treatment.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
1R01HL119476-01A1
Application #
8762045
Study Section
Lung Injury, Repair, and Remodeling Study Section (LIRR)
Program Officer
Postow, Lisa
Project Start
2014-07-15
Project End
2018-04-30
Budget Start
2014-07-15
Budget End
2015-04-30
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Johns Hopkins University
Department
Internal Medicine/Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
City
Baltimore
State
MD
Country
United States
Zip Code
21218
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Alder, Jonathan K; Hanumanthu, Vidya Sagar; Strong, Margaret A et al. (2018) Diagnostic utility of telomere length testing in a hospital-based setting. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 115:E2358-E2365
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Alder, Jonathan K; Barkauskas, Christina E; Limjunyawong, Nathachit et al. (2015) Telomere dysfunction causes alveolar stem cell failure. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 112:5099-104
Alder, Jonathan K; Stanley, Susan E; Wagner, Christa L et al. (2015) Exome sequencing identifies mutant TINF2 in a family with pulmonary fibrosis. Chest 147:1361-1368
Stanley, Susan E; Armanios, Mary (2015) The short and long telomere syndromes: paired paradigms for molecular medicine. Curr Opin Genet Dev 33:1-9

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